Pork Tenderloin with Plum Chutney

The other night after work I was planning a simple shrimp pasta dinner but realized a basket of plums was becoming overripe and needed to be used. I'd been thinking of shrimp for dinner but an online search for shrimp and plums didn't turn up anything appealing.  I did find this recipe on Epicurious for pork tenderloin with plum chutney. It called for the pork to be wrapped in pancetta or prosciutto, which I didn't have, but I did have some leftover bacon from the weekend that needed to be used, so perfect!  This was a lot more involved than I'd been planning but it wasn't too much trouble and it was so delicious it was worth the effort!

For the plum chutney you'll need plums, an onion, apple cider vinegar, ginger, garlic, brown sugar, mustard seeds and a bay leaf.

I used these local blue plums but any plums will do. You can peel them if you want but it's not like the queen is coming over. I don't know if I'd even peel plums for her. 

Pit and slice the plums. You can see some of these are a bit mushy. Perfect for cooking.

Slice an onion and sauté in a little oil until soft.

Throw in a tablespoon of mustard seeds and toast for a few seconds.

Add in about 1/3 cup of brown sugar, 1/4 cup cider vinegar, a tablespoon of minced garlic and the same of minced ginger, 1/4 cup of water and a bay leaf.  

Simmer a few minutes and add in the plums. Those skins will give it a beautiful colour as it cooks.

Cover and simmer 8 minutes, then uncover and let it simmer and thicken for about 20 minutes.  

It will be a lovely, thick chutney once it's done.

Meanwhile, prepare your pork tenderloin.  

Mince 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary and mix with a tablespoon of dried herbes de Provence and a tablespoon of olive oil.  

Rub this all over the pork tenderloin.

Now you'll need about 6 slices of bacon (or pancetta or prosciutto).

Carefully wrap the bacon around the pork until it is completely covered.

Secure each bacon slice with a toothpick or use kitchen twine.

Grill the pork over high heat about 8-10 minutes and then move to low heat for another 15-20 minutes until cooked through. Tip from the griller: it'll be very smoky and you may see flames when you first put the pork on high. 

Once cooked, cover in foil and let it rest while you rewarm the chutney.

Remove the toothpicks and use a very sharp knife to slice the pork so you don't shred the bacon.

Slice into medallions. We're serving this with grilled zucchini and a wild rice and basmati blend.  

Top the pork with the plum chutney.

For this unexpectedly fancy weeknight dinner we also broke out a nice bottle of wine. The bacon and herb wrapped pork was amazing, we'll definitely use this technique again. The chutney was a nice touch and a great way to use up ripe fruit.  

Wild Boar Tenderloin with Cherry Chutney

Sometimes things I cook are just for sustenance - nothing fancy. Sometimes things don't turn out as planned. But sometimes I cook something and I'm just amazed by how well it turns out.  This is one of those times.

When we travel to the Niagara Region to visit family, we often stop at a little place called Lakeland Meats that sells a variety of frozen game meats. They even have game burgers on the grill on summer weekends.  We like game meats and they're not easy to find, so we pick them up when we can.  On our most recent trip we picked up elk steaks, duck breasts and wild boar tenderloin.


I enjoy fruit with game.  I find the sweetness compliments the meaty flavour of the game meats.  So what better than in-season local cherries to serve with the meat?  I used this recipe from Epicurious, just substituting the boar tenderloin for the pork.  I highly recommend trying this with either meat. Pork is much cheaper and easier to find and would be just as delicious.  

Here are the ingredients you need:

• Wild boar or pork tenderloin
• 2 cups fresh cherries
• 1 onion
• Cherry preserves or jam 
• Balsamic vinegar
• Allspice
• Cayenne pepper
• Salt & black pepper

The wild boar tenderloin is very similar to pork. The meat has a redder colour and a bit more flavour, but you could easily substitute pork tenderloin.  Trim any fat or silverskin from the tenderloin before seasoning. 

First, make the glaze by mixing 3/4 cup cherry preserves...

...with 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar and 3/4 tsp ground allspice.

Stir together and set aside 1/4 cup to glaze the meat on the grill.

Next, the fresh cherries.

Pit the cherries. If you have a cherry pitter, this is a breeze.  You can also smash them with a knife and remove the pit, but I chose the slow way of slicing them in half like an avocado and removing the pit.

You need 2 cups of pitted fresh cherries.

Next, dice one onion.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large pan and saute the onion for about a minute.

Add the cherries, 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper and the cherry preserve mixture.

Bring to a boil and simmer about 8 minutes until thick.  Add salt to taste.

Ideally, a partner can be grilling the meat while you make the chutney. If not, grill it once the chutney is done and reheat the chutney when the meat is cooked. 

Season the tenderloin with salt and pepper.

Grill over high heat until browned, then lower heat or move to cooler part of the grill and cook until done, about 15-20 minutes, brushing with the reserved cherry glaze every few minutes.

Once cooked through to about 145 F, remove from grill and let rest, covered with foil for about 10 minutes.

Slice the tenderloin. 

Then top with the warm cherry chutney.

I served this with basmati and wild rice and asparagus.

The cherry chutney is amazing. I wouldn't normally think to use allspice but it adds a warmth to the fruit and the bit of spice from the cayenne pepper makes this an amazing dish. It is very easy so there's no excuse!  You don't need a special occasion wild boar tenderloin.  Pork would be just as delicious.  With fresh cherries in season, you've gotta try this!